The tastes of Moravia in the Czech Republic (From York Press)

The tastes of Moravia in the Czech Republic

11:32am Saturday 15th August 2009 in

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Megi Rychlikova found a land of apricots, peaches and wine in the heart of Europe

I GET very annoyed by people who say “I’ve been to the Czech Republic – I’ve been to Prague.” While they describe how they staggered from bar to bar on a massive stag night or rave about the medieval buildings of the Old Town, I’m stifling the words: “You’ve only been to Prague, you have no idea what the Czech Republic is like.”

I want to tell them about the mountains, the woods and the many other beautiful medieval and baroque towns that fill the Czech lands outside Prague.

Or I could tell them about eating sun-warmed apricots and peaches straight from the tree, and the wines. Yes, the wines. Czech wines are worth tasting as much as Czech beers. We don’t see many of them in this country because the Czechs know their worth and drink them themselves. In the old Czechoslovakia, they used to say that the best beer came from Bohemia, the west half of today’s Czech Republic, the best wines from Moravia, the east half of the Czech Republic, and the best spirits came from Slovakia. That is still true today. Generations of Moravian families have had their own vineyards and cellars and the tradition of small companies continues today.

Vines are mainly grown in the south-east corner of the country in the Moravian floodplain where the hills fall back before the Austrian border. This is a land where the sun shines so much they are building solar farms to harvest the sun’s energies. Here and there a wind turbine raises its white arms above the flattish fields of sunflowers and grain. There is space to spare, unlike in this crowded island.

The main wine-producing areas, all adjoining each other, include the Slovacko region with part of the Morava valley; the Velke Pavlovic region to the south of Brno; the Mikulov region and the Znojmo region; centred on the old town of the same name, just across a wide ravine from Austria. Znojmo is worth a visit even by teetotallers. It is a mix of medieval and baroque buildings with palaces built by the German nobles who moved in after the Czech Golden Age under Karel IV, better known to western Europe as Emperor Charles the Fourth of Luxembourg. He made Prague and the Czech lands the centre of the Holy Roman Empire.

Karel IV built the church of Sv Mikulas (St Nicholas), the patron saint of merchants. It dominates the higher end of the historical centre with its huge globe-shaped pulpit and marvellous baroque decorations. Nearby are the two Svatovaclavska chapels built on top of each other, beautiful in their stark interior design and dedicated to the Czechs’ patron saint, St Wenceslas. They are right against the old ramparts and overlook the spectacular Dyje valley.

Wandering down the winding medieval streets, you come to the Plague Pillar, a common feature of Czech towns. This is in the lower main square of the town, one of the various historical market sites. It’s a pity about the mid-20th century department store at the end of the square.

Znojmo also featured in the Napoleonic wars and its citizens will tell you that the ceasefire confirmed by Napoleon here in 1809 led to a more important treaty than that signed by three Emperors at another Czech town, Slavkov (German name Austerlitz as in the Battle of Austerlitz 1805).

As you travel out of town, note the trees in the gardens. These are peach trees and apricots, as well as others. Czech householders grow and harvest them in the way we grow strawberries and raspberries in our back gardens.

Then you’re out among the vineyards. These are not the great endless slopes of France, these are the small company and family vineyards that produce a fascinating variety of labels.

Underground are the vintages of previous years, reverently stored and available for view on cellar tours. The tourist industry makes the most of its local speciality.

Apart from the several wine tours, the many local events often have a wine link, such as the annual two-week Znojmo Music Festival in July where concerts are sponsored by local vineyards, all vying to prove that their produce is better than the one you tried the night before – and the night before that. The music is superb as well.

There is nothing quite like watching and listening to a baroque comic opera with a glass of excellent wine in your hand while a thunderstorm rumbles overhead. It is a world away from Prague, the boozy stag parties and the gawping tourists packed into Hradcany (the Castle district). Next month, Znojmo holds its historical vintage wine festival, to mark the visit of Karel IV’s blind father King John of Luxembourg, who died at English hands in the Battle of Crecy, northern France. Czechs have a deep love for their countryside, so deep that their national anthem, Kde je domov muj (Where Is My Homeland), is a litany of the delights of their woods, mountains and streams. There is no mention of saving their president, the glory of marching armies or the superiority of being Czech above other nationalities. As you travel their land, you understand why. Prague is beautiful, a Queen of cities. But her kingdom is far more. Next time you go to the Czech Republic, make sure you explore it properly.

Fact file

Getting there:

Czech Airlines has connecting flights from London Heathrow and Manchester via Prague to Brno, the Moravian capital, which has direct bus services to Znojmo (and Slavkov). Or fly to Vienna and take the train across the border to Znojmo. Prague does not have regular direct bus or train services to Znojmo.

Czech roads, apart from the motorways, which are toll roads, are not up to British standards, but they are considerably emptier.

Czech Wine vocabulary

Bile vino – white wine

Cervene vino – red wine

Suche, polosuche, polosladke, sladke – dry, semi-dry, semi-sweet, sweet

Many restaurants provide English translations of their menus.